Need to figure out an "O" post..

.. and soon because I have my "P" post all figure out already! This will be somewhat of preview, more along the lines of the planning post for the "P" post.

I have about 2 ounces of of the superwash merino (in "steel", from Ursula's Alcove) spun. At least.. I think I do. I'm lacking a scale and it being Sunday, the post office is not an option, not even if they'd let me. But I think it's about half the 4 ounce bag, so that means it's a little over 50 grams, which should be enough to make one sock. My goal for this wool is to make a pair of socks, which will be my first real project/garment that I'll make from my own handspun.

But it also means, socks needing to be a little sturdier, that I need to ply the yarn (and also pr'bly knit it up a little more densely for the foot than I normally do). And while Cate showed me how, I've been nervous to try it.

So I went out in search of some additional answers - like how long is it likely to take me to ply 2 ounces of slightly-thicker-than-fingering-weight singles? - on the internet and found some useful websites. I also found a nifty new (to me) YahooGroup in which I'm looking forward to participating.

But I'm still not quite ready to jump in. Part of it is wanting to be sure that I spin enough to make this first skein long enough to finish a full sock. It just doesn't *look* like a skein's worth of yarn on the spindle. So I'm spinning up one more chunk just to be sure. Part of it is being a little nervous about how long this is likely to take. I mean, once you start Andean plying, my understanding is that you're sort of literally tied to your spindle until you finish. I'll pr'bly give it a go after dinner, but we'll see.

In other news, I picked up 4 ounces of camel for $11 at the state fair Friday, which was pretty exciting. It's a bit of a shorter staple, but should be a good introduction to the lambs wool. And it's very soft and a beautiful color. No further washing has been done with the lambs wool, but I'm sure I'll do more this week.

Oh, and Jack thinks that angora bunnies are just the funniest thing, and he agreed that we might eventually maybe be able to get one. Since he's already vetoed any form of grazing livestock, this might be my only shot at getting my own fleece-producing animal. And no, I've never, ever had a bunny, so I'll have quite a bit to learn, but I have some time to do it in.